The basis for today's post comes from a discussion earlier this week regarding basic training principles. If you pick up any triathlon, cycling, or running magazine, you will invariably note some mention of "base training" or "aerobic base training" or some other form of doing long, slow work to "build a base" early in the season. During this time period, intensity (in the form of intervals, tempo work, etc) is considered "taboo". The prevailing thought is that you need to build an aerobic base upon which to then superimpose a few weeks/months of interval-based work prior to racing.

Of course, the premise sounded good - back when we all believed that the aerobic system was the primary limiter to performance.

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Sure, this may have been in jest. But, consider for a moment what it says if it wasn’t in jest.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi write a column (and have written a book) called "Car Talk" which is syndicated nationally. They answer reader questions related to automotive issues and news, and also have a podcast. In a recent column, there was an interesting letter from a physician, the full text of which can be found here.

“You mentioned in a recent column that ethylene glycol (antifreeze) is toxic to animals. Is it also toxic to humans? I'm a doctor, and I prescribe a medicine for my patients that cleans out their colon called Go-Lytely (which makes a person do anything but go lightly). The main ingredient in Go-Lytely is polyethylene glycol, which sounds an awful lot like ethylene glycol, or antifreeze. So, when I prescribe Go-Lytely to prepare my patients for a colonoscopy, am I really prescribing antifreeze? If so, could I just tell my patients to down a gallon of Prestone and save themselves a trip to the pharmacy? – Dan

Let’s just say that I really, really hope, that this wasn’t an actual reader question.

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It's been a while since I have written anything in these pages. I've been doing a lot of "behind the scenes" development of the site (for many new features coming soon). I've also been searching for a publishing company to make the "Rhubarb Diaries" a reality. Now all I have to do is keep writing!!

As I've mentioned before, when inspiration finds it's way to you, you go with it. There are times when I have these incredible brainstorms while driving in the car ... or in that moment before falling asleep at night.  It could be a chance occurrence ... an alignment of the planets ... or something more surreal ... that takes a flicker of an idea and turns it into a beacon of creativity.

Music has always been something that has proved inspirational - and once again, it happened.

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I've always had to chuckle about the concept of personality types - you know, you're either "Type A" (driven, motivated, goal-oriented) or "Type B" (laid-back, relaxed). I laugh because I can remember a time when I would have been considered by many to be a textbook case of Type A (perhaps a small textbook, but a textbook nonetheless!). I would process and re-process, problem solve, perhaps even lose some sleep while doing so. I can remember many times when my mind was buzzing at bedtime and I was simply unable to turn it off and call it a day. I could lose sleep and energy simply focusing too much on any given thing.

I remember my first days at Queen's University. I went to university (no, it is NOT the same as college in Canada) with a high school average in the low 90s. I got into the best school in Canada, the "Harvard of the North" (note to McGill alumni - we'll let you be number 2 in the country) and into the only physiotherapy program in Canada that would accept students directly from high school.

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